If
I write for you, I will include your letter grade and your rank in my
course according to your overall score, e.g., K^th out of N students.
I will emphasize positive things such as improvement over the
term. In the case of TAMS students I describe the TAMS program.
If your grade is low I can still sometimes write a helpful
letter: feel free to discuss it with me.

I prefer
on-line to paper forms.

CONCERNING ALL
LETTERS:

(1) At least one month before the
first letter is due, send me an email asking me if I can write for
you. In this letter, you must tell me the due date of
the first letter.

(2) If I say yes, send me
a second email containing all of the schools you will apply to, and
the format (electronic or paper) and due dates of their letters, in
chronologically increasing order, as follows:

University of ...
Electronic
letter, due Nov. 1

College of ...
Paper letter,
due Nov. 15

and so on. The school information should
be easy for me to read: each line should have one school and its
letter format and due date, and these lines should be double spaced.
You should attach to this email any electronic
documents you want me to have, e.g., scans of your transcript
and/or 1 page personal statement (see the bottom of this page). This
way I have one email containing all of your information. I
will let you know if I need anything else and tell you when
your letters have been sent by replying to it.
(3) Fill
out all paper application forms as completely as possible!
Accept or decline all waivers, and sign
your descision. If you leave anything blank that you
could have filled out, including routine stuff on my section, I
will leave it blank too. In particular:

Fill
in my name, address (Charles Conley, Math. Dept., Univ. of North
Texas, 1155 Union Circle #311430, Denton TX 76203-5017), phone number
(940 565 3326), email address (conley@unt.edu), length of time I have
known you, capacity I have known you in, high school name, high
school address (TAMS, UNT, 1155 Union Circle #305309, Denton TX
76203-5017), etc. You should say that I have been teaching for 25
years if they ask.

(4) I want to send all of
your letters at the same time. If you request them in more than
one batch, you will need to explain why or I will not send any but
the first batch.
(5) Make sure that all paper
application forms (e.g., the common application form) and information
sheets you give me are two-sided!(6)
If you mess up anything above, I
won't write your letter until it's fixed, and I may not have time to
contact you before the deadlines.
(7)
I will not write a letter to
just one school (e.g., Stanford!). Use the same set of letters
for all of your applications - otherwise you are being inefficient
with the time of your recommenders.

CONCERNING
PAPER LETTERS:

(1) Give me only one copy of the common
application form: I will photocopy it once it is completely filled
out (excepting my signature, which will be original).
(2)
Give me an addressed stamped envelope for every
letter! Note: the UNT post office requires that all 8.5 by 11
envelopes have two stamps, even if they weigh under one ounce.
(3)
Make sure that all envelopes you give me are self-adhesive!
(I'm not going to lick hundreds of envelopes.)

(4)
Put my return address on all envelopes or the UNT post office
will not take them!

(5) Do not fold the teacher
evaluation forms or put them in their envelopes. (I need to
fold them together with the letter I will send with
them.)

INFORMATION YOU MAY GIVE ME:

If
you like, I will write your letter based solely on your performance
in class. In that case I don't need any information. If
you want to give me information, it may include any of the following
(but nothing else, please). It is best if you send it as an
attachment to your main email (see above), by scan if
necessary.
Transcript: An unofficial copy of
your transcript. For TAMS students, only your UNT
transcript.
On at most ONE page:
(1)
Goals: What you want to major in as of now and what careers you
are considering.
(2) Extra Information: Describe
only major things such as summer research, summer schools, major
awards, life-long hobbies like music or theater, and multiple
languages. You can skip the volunteer work.
(3)
Personal Statement: You can add anything you want me to know
about yourself.

(4) Proof read! Grewsum
spelling and grammer does not make a good impression. i am
especially averse to improper capitalization and punctuation